Sway
by Sin of the Fallen
Summary: Kikyo has hit upon a brillant idea to get rid of Kagome, much to everyone's ire. The idea? Screw with the Well! While the Inu Tachi might be upset, Helmsdeep won't. A miko, free of charge, during a siege? What more can one, facing a dark army, ask for?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Ritualistic Miko

A/N: This is the leader in my poll, so here's what you guys wanted. Now please understand this is one of the stories that will very likely take a back seat to Partners?, Reminiscence, and Rewind Redux. Mostly due to the fact LOTR needs a great deal of researching before I can plot, and the fact I have no idea who to pair Kagome with or even if she's going to _stay_ in Middle Earth. Try and review this so I can get an idea or two from your pairing suggestions. And as for Kagome's bow, look up Daedric Bow and picture it the size of a long bow.

Kikyo, despite being a corpse, was a practical woman. Kikyo was also a woman of simple wants, desires, and goals. Starting with the goal of reclaiming her soul from her copy, or getting rid of her copy somehow. She swayed back and forth on what to do with the issue on a nearly hourly basis. After somehow completing that, whichever she eventually would chose, trying to drag InuYasha to Hell and stranding him there was next on the list. Simple goals. Simple wants. So why was it so _hard_ to accomplish these simple things?

Her Soul Collectors could not harvest souls from the living, as she had found out the hard way, so Kikyo could not kill her copy that way. Naraku had failed to kill her copy multiple times, despite having her in his clutches before her copy had done something with her connection to the jewel to erase Naraku from existence. Kikyo was quite sure that Naraku was gone now, even though she was pained to say his incarnations or 'children' still were in this world. The Daiyoukai of the West had grown fond of Kagome, as she was his only friend, after failing to kill her and InuYasha. No one in their right, or insane, minds would so much as pinch her in fear at meeting their end at the hands, claws, or swords of her allies and friends. So Kikyo had to do the leg and grunt work herself for the first time in either her lifetime or afterlife.

It had taken weeks of research in musty archives found in nearly, or totally, forgotten temples to find what she had been looking for and many more weeks to learn how to perform the ritual and spell. The ritual itself was unusually complex. It required perfect calligraphy, in Japanese so ancient it verged on being another language, with the fresh blood of a youkai as it's ink. As the castor wrote, he or she was to sprinkle some of their own blood across the script in order to create control over the magic. When the script was finished it would say, if there were no errors "I, Kikyo, command that you do my bidding. Submit to my will and sway under my power. My blood, born from my own flesh and bone, subverts your purpose and converts it to mine. Twist upon yourself in horror, and destroy yourself. As my blood commands, obey me!" Kikyo had great hopes for it's potential. If all went well, this ritual would prove powerful enough to overwhelm the Well her copy used.

Luckily for Kikyo, today was the day her copy was to return to Edo and her companions. She actually almost smiled, for she was prepared and ready. She would only get one chance, and this was it. Kikyo entered the clearing cautiously, and when she found no hostile friends of her copy, she got to work. Carefully Kikyo wrote the ancient script onto the Well, occasionally flicking some of her black and rotten blood onto the complex and circular work. She smirked as the Well's power began to manifest; her copy was in the sphere of the Well's influence. With an exertion of her will and power, the script flared to life and began to glow an ugly, vicious reddish black color as the ritual activated. Kikyo felt like an enormous weight had settled on her shoulders, there was so much ambient magic in the air now. However practice made perfect and Kikyo easily ignored it. "Blood of my prey and blood of my bones binds you to my will! Obey my demands!" The spell, short and sweet, had been spoken so it was now the moment to call out her demands. "Send Kagome away from those she loves and love her in return! May she never return from whence she came! So let it be!" Kikyo slammed her open hand down upon the rim of the Well and poured what remained of her power into the ritual's completion.

With an unearthly wail, the script was absorbed into the wood of the Well and the ancient wood darkened to a pitch black. The blue light that usually preceded her copy's arrival turned to the color of fire, and a tornado of light and power came out of the Well and engulfed it. The power was so potent it drove Kikyo to her knees as she inwardly rejoiced in her success. Kikyo never knew what happened next as the world suddenly ceased to exist for her. She would never know, but she had just been decapitated by Sesshomaru in his unbridled fury. The piece of Kagome's soul she had grasped so tightly flew into the dying tornado of light and power. As it entered the tornado flared up and then flared out. Leaving nothing but a scorched hole where the Well used to be. An equally furious Miroku cursed Sesshomaru roundly for killing the undead miko before they could interrogate her for information on what she had done to their dear friend. Now they would be forced to try and retrace her steps without any leads, since they had arrived after Kikyo had finished whatever she had done.

Either way, their precious futuristic miko was lost. Only the Gods' knew where she was now.

* * *

Kagome was not having the greatest of days. She had gone home to resupply the group with medical equipment, and other assorted things like ramen and pocky. After stopping by her local archery store to pick up some arrows for the bow Totosai had made for her. She usually got broadhead arrows with serrated, barbed, or hooked edges along with the traditional broadhead arrow for the youkai who survived the initial purification. The barbed arrows were terrible to try and pull out, since it was designed to rip out the surrounding flesh if someone tried to simply pull it out. The serrated made a messy wound of somewhat ground up flesh and the hooked arrows were nearly impossible to pull out without the same result the barbed arrows got. The arrows were specially designed with razor fletching, and since Kagome bought in such bulk she got an enormous discount from the fetcher. They were all dipped in Sesshomaru's poison after being bought, which she kept in a titanium bottle with a titanium cork with an enchantment to keep it from corroding the metal of the bottle and her arrows. Once she completed her purchases, she packed sensible camouflaged pattern clothing with sturdy combat boots into her nondescript black backpack. Her faithful yellow backpack had given up on her a few months ago and had burst apart.

After packing she started to lovingly tend to her precious Eclipse, as she had named her bow. Totosai had crafted it lovingly from the spinal bones and canine teeth of Ryuukotsusei with Kagome's own blood mixed in, and had only taken a week for the exquisitely crafted bow to be made. Totosai's masterpiece was equipped with razor sharp edges and points, suitable for slamming the bow into someone who got too close, and it hummed as if alive. Carefully she slung Eclipse's quiver across her back, making sure to keep it free from her backpack and easily accessible. She called out her goodbyes to her family and made her way to the Well. She leapt over the rim of the Well and the vortex that was the Well's power, sprung up around her in a blue light. All was going well till the blue light, so much like cool water, reversed itself and turned to the color of a roaring flame. Kagome gasped as the Well seemed to turn into a tornado of fire, and she was in the eye of the terrible twister. Kagome was spun every which way, till she thought she would be sick. Kagome nearly wept in gratitude when the fiery twister that once was the Well finally died down. However, she was now in a dilemma. The Well had turned into an infernal inferno before guttering out, and now she was floating in some sort of void.

She looked around for anything other than the nothingness that surrounded her, and nearly missed the small light so far, far off in the distance. Kagome gulped in fear, but Sounga and Naraku were infinity more terrifying than any void could ever be. She squared her shoulders, checked her quiver and backpack, and firmed her resolve. She thought to herself grimly 'The journey of a thousand miles, begins with a single step.' With a titanic effort, gravity seemed five times heavier than the natural amount despite her weightlessness, she took one step and then another. The light was far, far away but she would get there. Eventually.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Star Fall

A/N: Thanks for reviewing! The first result of the pairing polls is Aragorn: 2, Legolas: 2, Sesshomaru: 1. It seems tattoos are just not as popular as Middle Earthians… And if you can spot the slight references I made, I'll be impressed. And no offense meant to any religion or other wise that is mentioned. Oh, and if you can figure out why this story was titled 'Sway' of all things I'll dedicate a chapter to you!

Kagome was most certainly _not_ the happy and cheerful miko she was frequently described to be. She was tired, hungry, and too afraid to assuage either desire in fear that if she stopped she would find herself unable to continue once more. The light at the end of the endless void, an oxymoron in and of itself, seemed a little closer and it was the only thing that pushed her onward. Kagome had no way to tell how much time had past in the void, and since she had been in the Well when this had occurred, it could have been countless millennia condensed into a few hours or a few hours expanded into countless millennia. Sarcastically and speculatively she thought to herself 'If I'm dead, does this mean atheists were right? That when we die, there is no afterlife and only a void of nothingness? Or perhaps I've entered the _Pleroma_ of the Gnostic beliefs, leaving behind the _Demiurge_ I was born into?'

She struggled onwards, the journey never getting any easier than the first step she had taken. Kagome's ears perked as she heard a soprano voice resound and rebound throughout the void. Was it singing? She cocked her head, as she walked onwards, in curiosity. Yes the voice _was_ singing, with a menacing alto singing in discordance with it, but she could only barely make out a word. Most of the singing did not sound like any language she knew, but from the sinister alto she could barely discern the word 'Nephilim'. The song resonant with a deep sense of a 'not right', 'unnatural', and 'unholy' feeling like the Shikon had. Both by all rights should never have been brought forth into the world, but had been anyways. Kagome picked up her pace, scared of what might be singing in this void she shared with it.

More millennium hours passed and Kagome could see the light now as clearly as she could see the noonday Sun. She touched it lightly with her ki, causing the light to sway under the pressure, and received an alien impression. Whatever it was, it was unlike anything she had ever had the fortune or misfortune to encounter. Kagome was reluctant to touch the light, but the song was reaching a crescendo and she _knew_ there was no other choice to be had. She leapt into the light, and was blinded as she fell through the light to somewhere she knew not. Kagome did not care though, she could be going anywhere for all she cared, as long as that unholy song did not accompany her.

* * *

When Kagome opened her eyes, she was greeted with the scents of blood, death, and battle to join the sight of the small scaled war going on before her eyes. There seemed to be two distinct sides, the ogre like savages and the bipedals who appeared to look like humans.

Kagome had long since stopped using the word 'humanoid' in deference to her youkai friends, mostly Sesshomaru, who did not like being compared to most of humanity.

She knew if she wished to survive this miniature war, and it's aftermath, she would have to pick a side and hope that they were friendly to strangers. So she observed the opposing armies. Kagome watched the defenders, definitely humans for the most part, try valiantly to hold off the greater army while trying to protect their comrades. The savages clambered over the bodies of their fallen without so much as a shred of remorse, and to Kagome's unparalleled disgust she could see a few berserkers devouring the corpses of their dead. She needed no other evidence as far she was concerned, and she set down her pack in her sheltered and shadowed alcove high in the unhewn rock of the walls. The keep the 'human side' was defending was in a natural horseshoe, with the keep in the rounded part of the shoe, and she was on the outermost edges of the tip of the horseshoe. Her tiny alcove looked to have been naturally carved by wind and storm into the perfect sniper's or archer's tower, making a deep 'U' shape that was about the size of a small bathroom that had enough room to provide cover from possible enemy cover. She had gotten unimaginably lucky in winding up here, instead of on the ramparts or in the middle of the invading army.

Kagome drew a plain arrow, no fancy designs or poisons for now, and started to pump the carbon arrow with the barest minimum of power in order to test her purification against these unknown monsters. After all, why waste quality arrows if purification could get the job done? When it looked like she held a stick with a glowing azure ball at it's tip, Kagome carefully notched her arrow and sighted her prey. She watched the slowly lumbering beasts pulling the siege towers forward, and let the arrow leap eagerly from her fingers.

The arrow raced across the sky as little more than a petite falling star, drawing the attention of the rampaging hoard, until it impacted in the fleshy neck of one of the beasts that pulled the siege towers. The beast let loose a scream and it's masters watched horrified as it slowly turned into a silvery ash. Kagome smiled. This had just gotten much easier, if they were that susceptible to purification, they would be the youkai before her Kaze no Kizu. She chose another plain arrow, since they were so susceptible there was no need to waste the better arrows now, and chose a densely packed company of about a hundred that were far too close to the walls. Kagome likely had another chance, maybe another if she was very lucky, to take out a heavy chunk of this wave of canon fodder; so Kagome aimed _extremely_ carefully. She notched her arrow, took a deep calming breath while pumping it with so much power the arrow threatened to shatter, and loosed her shot. The shooting the star raced away from it's origins with the howl of purification.

* * *

Legolas panted as he shot another arrow through another Uruk-hai's throat, and wondered idly just how long he and the Fellowship had been fighting. He knew Aragorn had raised the army's moral, thankfully, and was fighting somewhere nearby with them. He knew Gimli was only a little out of eyesight since the Uruk-hai made it hard to tell, with their height and Gimli's dwarven height, where exactly the axe wielding dwarf was. Legolas cursed as his questing hand met only an empty quiver, and quickly snatched a quiver of inferior arrows off a dead comrade. When he turned around, Legolas paled as he saw an Uruk-hai standing ready to lop off his head. Then a blazing azure light from father ahead in the valley screamed forth, distracting the Uruk-hai into cringing and granting Legolas a clear shot at it's throat. As the now dying Uruk-hai fell to it's knees, Legolas nearly dropped his bow to clutch at his ears as horrible screams arose from the ranks of the Uruk-hai horde.

All fell silent and the fighting paused as the screams seemed to never cease, and Legolas raced to the edge of the ramparts to try and figure out what had just happened. What he saw stunned him, for all the thousands of years he had lived, Legolas had never seen it's like. A company of about one hundred Uruk-hai screamed as they slowly disintegrated into silvery ashes, any of their fellows who ventured too close joined them in their fated end as Legolas watched. Snapping out of it, Legolas let loose a ringing war cry and shot three Uruk-hai down and restarted the battle. Out of the corner of his eye he could see a shower of azure shooting stars crashing into the horde's ranks a little faster than the average arrow, decimating the Uruk-hai in incalculable numbers. Legolas could only pray, to any Gods that might be listening, that the power that had deigned to help them would continue to help them until Gandalf came. Sunrise was only a short time away after all, and like Aragorn had said once 'As long as we yearn for tomorrow, the future will never close.'


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: What Miko Dream Of

A/N: So far blondes are in, silver is out, and brunet is still not that fashionable. Song is so not mine. And how do you like the cliffhanger? Is it suspenseful or what?

Kagome retreated into her alcove and scurried over to her pack for something to boost her falling energy levels. As soon as she found a rations bar, she tore off it's shiny wrapper and wolfed the cardboard-like foodstuff as fast as InuYasha could slurp ramen. She sighed to herself and sat down on a hastily spread sleeping bag.

Kagome was starting to feel the effects of purifying thousands of ogres, and her energy levels were falling faster than they could replenish themselves. 'Well at least half their horde is gone thanks to me. Now I just have to survive until dawn, then I can leave it to the defenders. Though I am curious why these ogres are so vulnerable to purification. I have _never_ seen anything so weak against it! Not even flea youkai!' She snorted to herself, amused at the thought of those brutish ogres somehow being lesser than flea youkai. She looked to Eclipse and felt it whisper reassuringly in her mind, sounding like great thunder claps and rustling scales. Kagome stroked her bow and expertly checked it for any problems. Finding none, Kagome took out the cleaning kit and began to clean off her sweat and grime that had accumulated on her ebony bow. It hummed happily in her hands, making Kagome giggle. Once done she took out her Ipod and plugged in her earphones, scrolling through her music since she knew she would be in one spot for quite some time. With a smile she chose Fishin' by Takenobu, one of her favorite instrumental songs. Kagome took a gulp of water from her canteen and stood back up again, moving quietly to her favored position.

Carefully Kagome knelt down, careful to remain as out of sight as possible and still maintain the required scope she needed. With the string instruments playing in her ears, Kagome took an assessing glance over the horde. They obviously were reluctant to get anywhere near the keep, since they had connected that her primary targets were those who ventured too close. Their moral did not look to be anywhere near the levels it was before, another thing she had caused by picking off anything that seemed to rally them, and it seemed they were only a hair's breath from making an unauthorized retreat. Spotting a delicious clump of about two hundred foot soldiers, also known as canon fodder, Kagome reached for another arrow. But her questing fingers met no fletching, only empty air. "Damn it!" she swore. Kagome looked at her quivers full of more expensive arrows and made a decision. Playing by ear, she copied an archer she had seen in one of her brother's favorite anime. A glowing seal appeared in front of her bow and Kagome let the string go, producing hundreds of arrows made of pure blue energy that together made a screaming sound not unlike InuYasha's Bakuryuha.

Trembling in exhaustion and feeling like she had burned out her inner stores of energy, Kagome feebly stood up and made her way to the back of the cave. With infinite care and whispered thanks Kagome put away Eclipse, and collapsed into her camping roll whispering triumphantly "Scratch one." She was asleep before her head had even hit the pillow. Kagome never saw the bold streaks of dawn stretch out across the horizon, and she certainly never saw a cavalry led by a white clad man on a unicorn decimate the horde along with her meteor shower of arrows. Which was a pity since the man on the unicorn was certainly not going to repeat the experience if he could help it.

* * *

Gandalf and the Fellowship looked out on the small silvery desert, which had been created from the Uruk-hai, in the valley. "They are gone, even their taint is gone, like they had never even existed." Gandalf whispered in wonder. He knew of nothing mortal or immortal, that was not of divinity, which could do such a thing. There was no spell, no weapon, and no ancient knowledge that could create such devastation amongst the forces of Sauron. To be honest… if he had not witnessed the Uruk-hai dissolve into the silvery ashes, Gandalf would not have believed it. He still could not believe it. "Gandalf what could do this?" Aragorn whispered with Legolas adding "And why would they help us?" Gimli piped up before the White Wizard could get a word in. "Whatever it may be, they helped us when we needed it the most Elf. We should welcome whoever it is with open arms and tankards full of mead!"

Gandalf chuckled; trust a dwarf to say such a thing. Leaning on his staff, he looked at them and said with a small smile "I do not know!" He enjoyed their shell shocked expressions before continuing. "However Gimli is right. None of Sauron's allies or minions would go to such lengths to wheedle their way into Helmsdeep. So it can only be a prospective ally." Aragorn stroked his chin and Legolas perked up, obviously wanting to meet the archer. Aragorn murmured again in a soft voice, not really given to speaking very loudly "So where _is_ our mysterious friend?" Legolas stepped forwards, gaining everyone's attention. "I know they are somewhere farther down the valley, near the edge tips. I could not see where our friend was precisely but I could show you a general area to start with." Gandalf nodded and the Fellowship seemed eager to hunt down their prey. "Well lead the way Elf." Gimli grumbled, causing Legolas to laugh a bit before taking off swiftly. Everyone else cursed and started running after the elf with far too much energy.

* * *

After searching for a few hours the Fellowship was forced to call a temporary halt to their hunt for the mysterious archer. The battle had been _very _long, and once the adrenaline vanished from their bodies, causing them only to want to sleep for a couple days. Tiredly they made their way back into Helmsdeep and made their way to their bedrolls, stopping for no one at all. Not even Gandalf could find the energy required to deal with the questions lobbed at them. After fending off even the most persistent questioners, the Fellowship finally nodded off into peaceful dreams full of sunny days and naps in the shade of an old tree. Or for Gimli, being in Moria again when his cousin and his people were still alive was what he dreamed of.

Far off from the Fellowship Kagome dreamed fantastical dreams, full of dog youkai and fluffy things until a familiar face intruded upon her dream. In her dream she smiled and scooped up the small figure in a hug, burying her hair in wavy tresses. "Hello again Kagome." "Hello Naraku!"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: Compassion

A/N: I decided to take pity on you poor readers who're about to kill me for the cliffhanger, after laughing at how you whined about the cliffy. And the polls are: Legolas landslide. And this is how I view Naraku myself, if I take in all the context clues and apply my own knowledge to understand it. I also agree with 'he's a evil bastard' philosophy, but I favor this way of thinking more. Now… GO VOTE ON MY POLL!

Cuddling the child version of Naraku, Kagome giggled as the small child blushed. "I thought you had gone on to be reincarnated Naraku." The small child looked at the woman far too solemnly for a child of about four years of age. "I did. I don't like it Kagome!" Naraku sobbed into the crook of her neck, causing Kagome to croon comfortingly to the former spider hanyo. She had not honestly expected to ever see Naraku again after the Shikon had granted Naraku his own soul, separate from the corrupted Onigumo's. Soothingly she ran a hand through long, wavy black hair and asked "What is wrong Naraku? I thought you were eager to be finally able to become your own person?" The small child looked at her, with ruby eyes so red they seemed to glow with an inhuman light, and croaked hoarsely "Gods Kagome… It's been years since I last saw you. I'm already four years old now. And I'm terrified your mind will vanish from mine again!" Naraku buried his head into her lush hair, trying to brand her scent into his soul; it had been so very long since he had seen the time wandering miko. "I got…lost when you did." Kagome grew distressed and said sadly "Oh Naraku…"

* * *

It had all stared years ago, these dreaming dreams of Naraku. Somehow the Shikon had formed a bond between the two that had held it. At first Kagome had thought it was a twisted way to vent about InuYasha and the unfairness of her life provided by her subconscious. The Naraku projection had vented at her too, bemoaning the stupidity of his minions and the ever rebellious Kagura, making her laugh as her rants had made him sinisterly chuckle in nefarious amusement. Much to their, private, surprise they got along quite splendidly with Kagome's innate mischievousness balancing out Naraku's out and out sadistic nature. Eventually both of them had come to realize that it was not some sort of twisted dream created by their subconscious. And when they had, they warred against each other even more fiercely than they did in life. Determined to drive the other out of their sleeping mind, and ensure that such a disaster could never happen again. Both died countless times, horrible and drawn out deaths at the cruel hands of the other, at the other's hands in what had become nightmares. Both slowly going insane, Naraku simply becoming more unbalanced than usual, from the never-ending war in their nightmares and the war that echoed it's dream counterpart in reality. Soon enough their personal war, carried over to their real lives.

She still remembered how surprised, horrified really, her friends were when Naraku had show up in the flesh and she had launched herself at him with nothing but a tanto Sango had given her. They had fought like rabid dogs, forgetting to use their talents and powers and weapons, using only what nature had graced them with at birth. They had bitten, clawed, kicked, punched, and nearly strangled each other before the Inu Tachi's horrified eyes, Sesshomaru's incredulous eyes, and Kagura's disturbed eyes. The only reason they had stopped was because Sesshomaru spirited Kagome away once Naraku's hold on her faltered. She had thrashed like a caught fish in Sesshomaru's arms, frothing at the mouth at her chance to end her war with Naraku with a decisive victory. When Kagura, who had watched the mad scene from her feather, herded off Naraku Kagome had nearly screamed in frustration. Still in the grips of irrationality she had snarled a savage vow to the sky "Naraku! Your death is mine!" The Inu Tachi had not known what to make of such an outburst from the normally kind and sweet miko, and so had left the savage dog lying. Sesshomaru had a marked success in prying some of the situation from Kagome, and what he did find out caused him to understand the miko's violent aggression towards the spider hanyo.

Time passed and eventually the miko and the spider hanyo had been forced to call a truce in their dreams, before they dragged each other into a shared grave. For a very long time they had barely spoken to each other, almost content with the awkward silences. Naraku had caved first, only speaking derogatively of the Inu Tachi, and Kagome had quickly responded with a return sally. Soon enough they found a rhythm and their insulting turned into barbed banter. What Kagome remembered most was how one night, she had found Naraku crying. He was horribly embarrassed, not really understanding what was going on with himself, and had ranted and raved at Kagome. Kagome, being used to such displays from InuYasha, had managed to sift through the words to find what the cause of his unprecedented tears was truly. Buried deep in miscellaneous words, was a deep wish to be _Naraku_ and not _Onigumo_. Kagome had understood then, Naraku was in much the same situation she often found herself with Kikyo. Trying so hard to be his own person, but constantly only seeing the back of the person who had walked before them.

Kagome had felt a sort of kinship, to the monstrous being who had caused so much pain and death, with Naraku then. Yet her own dilemma with Kikyo was small in comparison. Naraku was only a personality that had gained consciousness by chance, born without his own body or soul. All he had had to make himself with was from what he could filch from Onigumo, which was corrupted filth at best. Naraku had never really been given a chance to become _Naraku_, unable to construct himself by himself with pieces of his own life. And to add insult to injury he was saddled with Onigumo, and was forced to share a body with the thing that he had arisen from. Kagome was not sure if she had ever felt as similar to someone else as she had right then, and had hugged Naraku. Causing the hanyo to be stunned with shock, and befuddlement since neither he nor Onigumo had ever been hugged. She had smiled while crying, too overwhelmed with compassion for the pitiless hanyo, and asked "No one's born evil. So would you like some help?" And that had been that.

Kagome still did not if what she had done was the pure thing, or even the right thing by masses' standards. She had willingly given a mass murderer, a male who had willingly tried his hand at genocide and countless other terrible acts, a second chance with a soul of his own born of the Shikon. But at the time all she had wanted was to try and give Naraku the chance to stand or fall on his own merits, something the world had not seen fit to give him… It had been at the time her most heartfelt wish, and the Shikon had judged her earnest desire worthy enough to cause it to erase itself from existence; granting Naraku his own soul. She still dreamed of him occasionally, mostly when he had crisis of faith or consciousness, and acted as his moral compass and guide for the clueless soul. One day he had disappeared in the dream, fading away as she heard a newborn's wail. She had not seen him since. Until now.

She ran her fingers through Naraku's thick locks absentmindedly, knowing eventually Naraku would either choose or be forced to sever this last remaining bond between them. It just was not healthy for him to rely on someone who could only see him in his dreams, never gaining the independence he had so sought. But that day would not be today, Naraku's emotions were still too raw and he desperately needed someone who he knew understood _Naraku _and not whoever he was now. Kagome kept crooning tunelessly to the distressed child, soothing his first heartache even as the world started to become monochrome as reality knocked impatiently on her door. She smiled at the wide eyed child, who was not really a child and probably never would be truly, and whispered before she awoke "Sweet dreams Naraku."

* * *

With a yawn, blue eyes fluttered open. Kagome sat up, stretched, and quickly began to change into less filthy clothes. As soon as she had changed into washed out gray clothing, Kagome set about making a small breakfast from her rations. Once she finished eating, Kagome stretched every which way. After stretching she casually walked over to her bow and selected an arrow, narrowing her eyes at the stray plain arrow. She walked back to the lip of the small cave's opening, and notched the arrow. She breathed in deeply, and loosed the arrow at the keep. After all, she was not going to be able to climb down sheer rock if she did not have to. The brightly glowing arrow traced a path through the air to her humble cave, as it sailed over the silvery desert to land with a burst of light in the cracking mortar of the parapet.

Kagome would have been satisfied if she had known just what a commotion she had caused with the Fellowship.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Four: Merry Go Round

A/N: Well… Legolas is in the lead by a good bit, but we have a last minute entry. Eomer of Rohan. Vote on pairings by reviewing my lovelies and vote on my poll! Let me repeat. I OWN NOTHING AT ALL!

Legolas examined the arrow that had been retrieved from the parapet in the Fellowship's quarters. As an immortal elf and a master archer he could easily say he had never seen it's like. "Aragorn look at this arrow. Have you ever seen it's like?" His brooding friend moved away from the wall he had been leaning on and nimbly plucked the strange gray arrow from his fingers, running sword calloused fingers over the shaft and the metallic fletching. He could not identify what the shaft was made of, only that it was neither wood nor metal. Running a finger over the 'fletching' told it was razor sharp metal, sharp enough to break the skin. He shook his head before handing it back to the mystified elf. "I cannot tell you what that arrow is made of, but I can _guess_ both the fletching and the arrowhead are steel. It looks to be manmade too, far too simple and brutally efficient for elven craftsmen and the improper size for dwarven craftsmen." And Aragorn was right; elves took the making of each arrow as seriously as a sword and beautified them accordingly. They would never make something so plain.

Legolas grinned without shame, well aware how his people got when it came to their various crafts whether it be metalworking or tailoring. He grinned even wider as Gimli stepped into the room with the gruff words "Dwarves may prefer axes and such, but we _do_ have archers." Wordlessly the elf bowed lavishly to the Dwarf and presented the arrow to the now embarrassed Dwarf. Elves might be masters in nearly anything, one has time on their hands when immortal, but Dwarves always were much 'closer' to the earth and it's hidden treasures. Gimli tested even more thoroughly than the previous two to have done so. First he felt the shaft, trying to find an identifying marking he explained. "Usually whoever made the arrows will leave _some_ sort of identifying mark. But apparently _this_ one _doesn't_." Then he gently squeezed it. "Sometimes in war we Dwarves, Elves _always_ use wood, pure iron or steel arrows. It takes someone with the muscles of a damn blacksmith to fire it usually, but those arrows can punch through almost a foot of good solid stone. Too springy to be metal though." Next on the agenda was checking the fletching, which cause Gimli to whistle in appreciation. "Looks to be scrap steel. Too flawed to be used in anything else but this, makes it a great way to recycle wasted ore. Wish my people had thought of it first." Legolas chimed in longingly. "Same goes for my people." Gimli scowled at the blonde elf before concluding his examination. "The arrowhead is good steel, but I don't know what the shaft is made of. So whatever it is, it isn't naturally occurring."

Aragorn smiled kindly at his height challenged friend. "Thank you Gimli. We should probably bring it to Gandalf now. Hopefully this arrow can lead him, and us, to our mysterious friend." Legolas started to hum cheerfully at the prospect of meeting such a fine archer.

It was merely coincidence that this was probably the first _new_ Istari since the Istari had arrived on Middle Earth.

* * *

And as for what the Fellowship's 'mysterious friend' was doing, she was currently devoting herself to the sin of Sloth. Kagome had unzipped her sleeping bag completely, making it a glorified blanket, and had spread it in a sunny patch near the back of the cave. After changing out of her sweaty clothes into a modified taijiya outfit, with no coloration other than black with only a tiny silver crescent moon on the neckline along with some additional armor, she had neatly braided her long hair into a simple braid that smacked against her torso. No youkai would try to pull _her_ hair after they had learned it was easy enough to use that to purify through direct contact. Carefully she checked her youkai bone pauldrons, which had also been blackened, making sure they would protect her shoulders. Then she pulled on her vambraces, also blackened youkai bone, making sure they were securely snug on her forearms. Next were her schynbald, again blackened demon bone with small protruding spikes, which covered her shins. As almost an afterthought she pulled on her black leather gauntlets, which carefully left calloused fingers free in order to not impede her archery, and her sabaton of youkai bone which covered the top of her feet. The final piece, and one of the most useful, was her gorget made of blackened youkai bone that protected her vulnerable throat.

The only reason she possessed such stunning stealthy combat armor was because Sango had made it for her on her eighteenth birthday. And all of these preparations were for the important first impression she _needed_ to make. But until her, hopefully, allies arrived she would become one with her inner sloth and soak up some sun while listening to music. She smiled softly with her eyes closed as she listened to Nella Fantasia and Anywhere Is, completely content and relaxed. As the music started to crescendo in one of the measures, Kagome sighed in pure happiness as she bathed in the world.

Wherever she was, was _very_ young compared to Earth and so full of energy like a hyper child. Old Lady Earth had already achieved a sense of immense age and maturity, broadcasting subtly powerful magics and energy, and 'quiet'. However Kagome was mentally deafened as the world she now roamed became excited with her presence. It was like a young child, constantly asking questions in a never-ending stream of chattering babble, which caused migraines of titanic proportions. Luckily for her, the music helped to drown out the noisy planet and soothe her budding headache. "Such a loud world…"

* * *

Gandalf was really quite _irritated _with this person. Since all this shimmery silver ash apparently not going to vanish, it had decided to lodge itself in _unmentionable_ places. The White Wizard looked at the arrow he had enchanted to act as a needle to a lodestone to find the magic that had once infused it so headily.

When Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli had finally brought him the damn arrow they had nearly contaminated the utterly _pure_ magic that still resided in the arrow. Gandalf had been around for a _very_ long time, being a Istari had it's benefits, and had learned much about magic. Yet _this_ was quite _alien_ to Middle Earth. Ergo, being the curious Istari that he was, Gandalf had rounded up the Fellowship to set out again for their mysterious quarry. Yet they were approaching the halfway point of the horseshoe valley and the arrow did not even quiver, as it should as it got closer to it's 'magnetic pole'. When Legolas began to sing merrily, as if the blasted elf was _enjoying this_, Gandalf was unsure if it would be too upsetting to the Valar if he cursed the elf mute. When a particularly nasty rock that had been hidden under a dune made him fall face first into the silvery ash, Gandalf felt he had been answered it would be too upsetting to the Valar to mute the singing elf. He nearly died as their muffled, hysterical, chuckles reached his keen ears. The Valar truly could be cruel.

Pulling himself up, he cleaned off himself and his robes before trying to find the arrow. Gandalf spotted it, a few feet away from the laughing males on the right, and it was whirling like it had been caught in the vortex of a whirlpool. Now ignoring the males, he walked to the right valley cliff-face until he was only a few paces from the rock, and looked up.

Something reached his ears that caused him to say harshly "Quiet!" Startled, the Fellowship complied. And then they all heard it, beautiful and alien music coming from on high. "What is _that_ Gandalf?" Gimli asked. The White Wizard responded in a lively fashion "Well let's go find out shall we?" Gently tapping the butt of his staff on the ash strewn ground, Gandalf cast his magic on himself and the Fellowship. Without further ado they began to rise into the air, climbing the sheer cliff without effort. Their frightened yelps were music to Gandalf's ears and wounded pride.

* * *

Kagome's eyes shot open from her latest daydream of delicious all-you-can-eat udon and cake at the sound of several males laughing. Someone had found her! 'Finally.' She thought as she quickly snatched up Eclipse and a quiver of poisoned barbed arrows. Quicker than lightning she put away her sleeping bag and her Ipod into her black pack, before plucking an arrow from the quiver on her back and checking that her small dagger was still within the quiver. She was ready to impress, and hopefully intimidate, whomever had the guts to come up to her cave. Kagome had the home field advantage, plus she would not be anywhere the ledge unlike her visitors.

However she had not expected her visitors to _levitate_ themselves up. There were four of them; two seemed human, one that might be a Dwarf, and the last was likely a youkai judging by his ear. Each was quite attractive in their own way, even the elder human and the Dwarf. The elder human was completely dressed in white with a staff he could pose as a 'white wizard' with. He radiated power that stemmed from within in a way that reminded her of monks. The other human was probably in his early-to-mid thirties and was the type of rugged rouge warrior romance authors would use as the love interest of a deeply smutty novel. Yet, he was somber and grim even though he was still clearly in his prince. The Dwarf would have been called striking, not handsome so much, with his red hair and heavily muscled body. His armor and body size meant, for his race, he was likely a type of higher classed warrior. Lastly, the youkai hovered in the nebulous realm between devastatingly handsome and ethereally beautiful with a whipcord physique. A bishouen, or 'pretty boy', is what she was sure his legion of fans called him.

The white one began to speak, seizing her attention. "Hail good lady. Would you be the one who provided us with the assistance?" She sighed in relief, at least they spoke English. Kagome flashed them a dazzling smile. "Hello. My name is Kagome Higurashi and I sincerely hope you won't try to kill me."

* * *

Legolas could say he had never levitated in his long life. He had climbed into extremely tall trees many times, and had even flown with a bit of help once or twice. He had found it quite thrilling, in a good way of course. However, if he never levitated again in his immortal life it would be _far_ too soon in his opinion. 'I would guess the lesson in this is to _not_ make fun of a very embarrassed Istari. He can and will get revenge while simultaneously being helpful.' Legolas thought to himself wirily as he studiously avoided looking down. He glanced to Aragorn, looking as deceptively stoic as always but the way his left eye twitched a little beat to some unheard music said otherwise. Gimli on the other hand looked like he had invented a new facial color that mixed white, green, and a reddish-purple. Gandalf simply looked as smug as the proverbial clever fox.

Finally they touched solid stone again as Gandalf lightly placed them on the ledge; it was much like going down a step on a stairwell in Rivendell. Yet what greeted the elf stunned him. Only paces away from the ledge, and inside the little cave, stood a gorgeous and armored woman. She had hair as black as a raven's wing tied into a braid, and was armored completely in black in a style he had never seen before. And in her dainty hands was the most _demonic_ looking bow he had ever seen in all his years, full of sharp black spikes veined with pulsing claret red lines. Legolas was too awestruck to say anything before Gandalf took control of the conversation. "Hail good lady. Would you be the one who provided us with assistance?" He watched avidly as she sighed in relief. "Hello. My name is Kagome Higurashi and I sincerely hope you won't try to kill me." That was more than a little shocking for a greeting, prompting Aragorn to sally back "Is there a reason we should kill you?" Her face tightened, much to Legolas' internal distress. "That would be a poor way to repay the one who decimated your invading horde." Sensing an opening, Legolas smoothly pounced. "We are here to meet you Lady Kagome, not to _kill_ you. Also we, and the King of Rohan, wished to thank you for your most appreciated help." Legolas pleaded with carefully couched emotions, trying to convey a sense of sincerity to the wary woman. He felt both amused and, surprisingly, jealous as he noticed Gimli looked quite similar to when he had met Galadriel for the first time.

The woman seemed to believe him and relaxed her hold on the bow, but not completely. A curious look settled upon her face as she focused on them intently. "May I know your names?" Aragorn, looking vaguely sheepish, gave her a little smile. "Aragorn, son of Arathorn." Legolas gave the woman a playful smile and a bow, drawing out a giggle much to his pleasure. "Prince Legolas of Mirkwood, son of Thranduil." Gimli spoke next with a besotted sounding voice, much to Legolas' silent ire. "My name is Gimli, son of Glóin." Gandalf went last, and said kindly "Gandalf the White." Legolas was not sure if saw amusement dance through her merry crystalline eyes or not before she composed herself. "You wouldn't happen to be a Wizard would you?" Gandalf chuckled. "Yes, I am an Istari. But what are _you?_" She gave him a mysterious smile, one that made Legolas' heart beat in a strange syncopating rhythm. "I am only a humble miko doing her duties to help others." She cocked her head to the side just a tad. "Can you hear it? It is so very loud and so very young. How do you stand it?" Gandalf visibly started before growing _quite_ curious. "You can hear the Music of the Ainur?" Kagome looked confused. "Do you mean the planet? Then yes, yes I can." "What do you mean by that the Music is '_so very loud and so very young?'_?" Gandalf asked, garnering an amused look on her beautiful face. She enunciated very carefully, making Legolas focus very attentively, her chosen words. "Because my world is _over four billion years old_."

Legolas was not the only one to gasp in surprise at _that_ little tidbit.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Five: Please Groom Me!

A/N: It's safe to say Legolas has won the polls! Now let's have some fun at the elf's expense with my own sense of humor!

Kagome was quite impressed by the males before her. After their initial shock the four had quickly accepted it and moved on muttering something about "After Gandalf coming back, this isn't quite _that_ farfetched…" Either they had accepted on blind faith, or that they were humoring her, is what she reasoned. As long as they did not completely bonkers on her, Kagome was certain she would be fine. Though the ethereal youkai might need to watch his back, least she ravish the devastatingly handsome male in a fit of utter animalistic lust. She was twenty and a virgin; there was enough lust within her to go through a Roman orgy with a harem of youkai males and still come out wanting more. Luckily for Legolas, Kagome had the morals to resist trying to jump his bones…for the moment.

"Alright. Are you ready to leave Lady Kagome?" Kagome pulled herself out of her hormone ridden thoughts at the sound of Gandalf's voice. She blinked at him without comprehension for a moment before saying "How are we going to get down?" "The same way we came up." It could not be any worse than Sesshomaru's faster than light travel, so she shrugged before walking straight off the cliff face. She stood straight with her arms crossed as she felt the laws of gravity and physics cease to function in regards to her. She tilted her head back to find the males gawking at her display. Did they really think the wizard could not catch her? As she touched the ground she gave a happy cheer, not really enjoying the sight of only air beneath her feet. "Yahoo! Back on the ground!" She was oblivious to the fact she had nearly given the object of her, latest, sexual tensions a stroke. Quite the accomplishment when Legolas was immortal. She watched as the quartet came down as one, the same as they had come up, and landed on the ground with a queasy looking Dwarf. 'Note to self. These people will hate elevators if they ever experience them.' She thought. "What were you thinking! By the Valar, were you trying to get yourself killed?" Legolas demanded as he stalked over to the human; in his worry he did not notice how the sexually frustrated human striped and proceeded to ravish him with her greedy eyes.

Aragorn did notice and fought to keep from laughing as the elf clearly tested her self-control; unfortunately for Kagome, he knew Elves deeply believed in celibacy before marriage. Arwen had made that _very _clear to Aragorn that celibacy meant nothing except perhaps kissing. Hopefully his friend will realize he was dealing with a woman's self control that was steadily crumbling. "Gandalf…Legolas might need a bodyguard at the rate he's testing Kagome." The White Wizard gave a naughty chuckle like a child that had stolen a cookie from the fabled cookie jar. "Legolas can take care of himself Aragorn. And judging by how he is acting, it doesn't seem her attraction is one-sided. If he wishes to jab the starving Balrog in the eye let him." Gimli grumbled. "Blasted Elves. Always get's the pretty females." Gandalf chuckled at him. "I'm sure there's a pretty Dwarven maiden or two waiting for you Gimli." Gimili appeared to blush, but the red beard made it difficult to tell. Legolas finally conquered his panic, and Kagome her lust, letting them make their way to Helm's Deep.

Kagome was frantically asking questions of the males while they walked on. "So let me get this straight. This King wants to _personally_ thank me?" Gandalf nodded sagely, knowing that the pride of Rohan was on the line would insure Theoden's thanks. "He doesn't have any sons or male relations that are marriageable right? And he's married?" Aragorn replied in a somewhat puzzled fashion to what sounded like paranoia. "He's not seeking a wife, but his nephew and heir is of marrying age and is unwed." Legolas frowned at the entire conversation, making Aragorn's and Gandalf's eyes twinkle knowingly. "Why do you ask Kagome?" She gave an awkward laugh as she skirted around a dune. "Males have a history of kidnapping me and then trying to force marriage upon me. A couple has gotten _really_ close too." The three younger males practically quivered in righteous anger, especially a certain smitten elven prince. Gandalf smirked a smirk Kagome had thought only Miroku, and secretly Sesshomaru, were capable of pulling off without looking like a fool. "Tell us more about where you come from Lady Kagome." Legolas pleaded with earnest curiosity, truly wanting to know more about the mysterious woman who was so very alluring.

He did not understand why he felt so desperately attracted to a _human_ who was not even one of the Dunedain, actually he did but he was drinking from De Nile like an elf suffering from extreme dehydration, but Legolas _did_ want to understand more about her. He ignored how his heart nearly stuttered to a halt when she smiled at him, making his friends grin mischievously at him. "My original time period is home to approximately six billion humans." The Fellowship visibly reeled at the staggering numbers. "Humans are the only race to inhabit my world during my time; the other races live in pocket dimensions. When I traveled five hundred years into my past, humans still did live side by side with youkai like Legolas." Gandalf was almost buzzing with excited curiosity. "Is youkai your word for Elves?" Kagome looked taken aback. "_Damn_. In my world Elves and Dwarves never existed as far as I know. The translation for youkai is _demon_. They are an immortal race, immune to age and most diseases. They often have royal facial crests that are family specific, along with special abilities that are sometimes passed down. They possess enormous amounts of power, well at least the bipedal ones. The can turn into a variety of demonic megafauna, which are their true forms, and their superior physical makeup has lead to extreme racial prejudice between our two races since they regard humans as 'lesser'. That's why I exist; my soul was created by my Gods to protect humanity by eradicating youkai from existence. I'm considered a traitor to my kind quite often since I like youkai, often better than humans, and refuse to senselessly hate them."

The Fellowship was once more stunned. Were there truly no Elves or Dwarves where she came from? And she was willing to make friends with _demons_? Legolas was not sure how he felt at being found similar enough to a demon to be mistaken for one. "Why did you think I was a…youkai?" She smirked, paused, and approached the now nervous elf. Kagome lightly stroked a pointed ear with her pointer finger, not knowing just what she was _doing_ to poor Legolas. "You have the same pointed ears and you move with inhuman grace. Add in the fact both races are, apparently, extremely beautiful it's extremely easy to confuse the two." Kagome then resumed walking, not looking back and thus missing Legolas' delayed reaction. The other three fought laughter at Kagome's unknowing cruelty. The races of Middle Earth, also known as Arda, did not touch a elf's ears for a _very good reason_.

Kagome had assumed the startling similarities between the two races extended to the reactions of an ear rub. Canine youkai found it a bonding experience between packmates, or mates, that helped build lasting bonds with the loving and innocent pleasure that came from grooming. Kagome, Sango, and Miroku had almost completely adopted the canine youkai mentality about such things by the time Sesshomaru had joined with them. Kagome, being the alpha female, had groomed _everyone_ with no exceptions. Grooming included hair brushing, cuddling, ear rubs for youkai, and when the pack bonds felt shaky everyone would bathe together. The bathing together had been a problem for the humans at first, due to modesty issues and the fact Miroku was an unrepentant pervert, but Kagome solved the issue by bringing swimming suits from her time.

Those who roamed Middle Earth could tell Kagome _exactly_ what she had assumed wrong. Like youkai, Elves also had sensitive ears that stimulated pleasure receptors when stroked. The difference was for Elves it was anything other than _innocent_ pleasure; usually only courting or bonded couples ever touched one another's extremely sensitive ears. Kagome walked on completely oblivious to the fact the object of her lust was flushed, shivering, and out of breath. Which meant luckily, or unluckily depending on whom you asked, Legolas would not be jumped. Aragorn and Gandalf snickered at the poor elven male's state, while Gimli looked gleeful at his humiliation, which made Legolas even more mortified. Aragorn teasen his old friend ruthlessly in revenge for the teasing he and Arwen had endured from the blonde. "Looks like you caught yourself quite the spitfire Legolas. Too bad she has no idea what she just did huh?" He asked of the now furiously blushing elf that crossed his arms in a huff. "Aragorn…should I tell Elrond about the most intriguing thing I saw while in Rivendell?" Aragorn flushed too and gave a growl. Gandalf laughed at the elf in denial, it was obvious he had found his destined one in the odd human woman who hummed a raunchy ditty in front of them. "Legolas…she's getting away." Gandalf pointed out, watching with amusement as the elf scrambled to catch up with his lively human.

Silently he wondered 'Kagome mentioned something about time travel…Could Kagome be immortal? Surely a mortal could not traverse the timeline…' Gandalf focused back on reality as they approached Helm's Deep. He smiled as he heard snatches of Legolas' and Kagome's conversation float back to him on the wind. He felt lighter than he had since the quest began, feeling happiness and amusement at Legolas' predicament. Legolas was currently more amusing than two elven females in a bitter social feud. Life was good.


	7. Take A Look Here

Sorry everyone this hasn't been updated in awhile, but I've been very busy. I need a BETA for this fic before I can continue, cause my canon knowledge of LOTR is a bit shaky and I've little time to improve that.

BUT! BUT! I WILL NOT THROW THIS FIC AWAY! So don't sweat it too much!

That is all, and thanks

-Sin


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